Government adopts decisions on procurements significant for the Croatian Armed Forces

At today’s session, the Croatian Government adopted decisions on procurements significant for the Ministry of Defence, i.e. the equipping and modernization of the Croatian Armed Forces.

These include the adoption of decisions on preparatory actions for the procurement of new, state-of-the-art Leopard 2A8 tanks, the procurement of the Bayraktar TB2, and the maintenance of the Rafale combat aicraft.

According to the adopted proposal, the budget of the Ministry of Defence will increase by 17.36 percent in comparison to 2024, or by 222.5 million euros, and according to the proposal it will amount to 1.5 billion euros in 2025.

Thus, the Croatian Government has adopted the Decision on granting consent to the Ministry of Defence to assume obligations from the state budget in the period from 2025 to 2027 for the continuous maintenance of the Rafale multirole combat aircraft and accompanying equipment; the Decision on acquiring non-financial assets of the Ministry of Defence for the procurement of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial system; the Decision on granting consent to the Ministry of Defence to assume obligations from the state budget in 2025 and 2026 for the procurement of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial system, and the Decision on preparatory actions for the procurement of Leopard 2A8 tanks for equipping the Croatian Armed Forces.

Maintenance of the Rafale multirole combat aircraft and accompanying equipment

Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ivan Anušić explained that the continuous maintenance of the Rafale aircraft and accompanying equipment is of Croatia’s exceptional importance in order to ensure the necessary level of availability and operational capabilities of the Rafale aircraft to perform their tasks.

Procurement of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial system

Explaining the procurement of the Bayraktar unmanned aerial system, Minister Anušić pointed out that experience gained from recent conflicts shows that the role and significance of reconnaissance and armed unmanned aerial systems are increasing in armed conflicts.

“The development of technology and the wireless transmission of large amounts of data in real time enables the increasingly dominant use of remotely piloted unmanned aerial systems equipped with a wide range of sensors and smart weapons, which is why they are increasingly used for reconnaissance, data collection and combat operations tasks,” Minister Anušić said, adding: “To be able to provide an adequate response to contemporary threats, the Croatian Armed Forces have devised a tactical study and expressed the need for a priority and urgent procurement of the Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial system. A Turkish company Baykar sent an informative offer and a proposal of the configuration of the Bayraktar TB2 system in the comprehensive package model to the Republic of Croatia. This unmanned aerial system has a useful and effective application for border surveillance and fire prevention, and can also be used by other state bodies”.

Minister Anušić also pointed out that the Ministry of Defence has carried out a public procurement procedure, and the value of the contract is 73,906,377 USD excluding VAT. In addition to goods and services, the delivery of equipment worth 2,022,514 USD is envisaged as a donation.

Procurement of Leopard 2A8 tanks

Minister Anušić stated that the Croatian Government is transferring tangible assets to Ukraine, that is M-84 tanks and M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, together with their spare parts and ammunition, the book value of which amounts to 144,800,000 euros.

“By 30 November 2024 the Federal Ministry of Defence of the Federal Republic of Germany will make a payment for the transferred tangible assets to the state budget, allocated to the Ministry of Defence. The aforementioned financial resources will be used for the procurement of Leopard 2A8 tanks for equipping the Croatian Armed Forces, while the remaining financial resources for procurement will be planned in the state budget and allocated to the Ministry of Defence,” Minister Anušić said.